Kitsune no Hanabi
by rootathell
Summary: The Hyuuga have always been a traditional family. The Clan Head and the Main Branch ruled over the Branch family. For years it was Hinata's fate to end up as a Branch member and Hanabi's to be the next Clan Head. But not now. Rated for future stuff
1. Prolog

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the mentioned Characters, they belong to their creator Name of Creator

If I did own Naruto, the Timeskip wouldn't have happened, at least not like in cannon. Instead there would be a few episodes/chapters with Naruto and the rest of the Rookie Nine and Team Gai on the search for Sound and Sasuke, foiling many of Orochimaru's side projects.

This work of fiction is dedicated to **Genericrandom**, **Jakkun** and all the other people on TFF.

Legend:

Location

"blablabla" … speaking

_/What a stupid thing to do/_ … thinking

**-Baka kit- **Kyuubi talking

**_-Baka kit-_** Kyuubi thinking

**Kitsune no Hanabi – Prologue**

The Hyuuga Clan was one of the noble, if not the noblest clan in the hidden Leaf, at least by their definition. But they were the most powerful for sure, if not by power then by their numbers.

Such a large clan is difficult to lead and choosing a leader would be nigh impossible if it weren't for the caged bird seal, that divides the Hyuuga clan in main and branch family. With this Damocles sword hovering above the heads of the branch family members, there was only one family member eligible for this position.

This person, the most powerful Hyuuga was, is and will be the clan head and head of the main family, and the heir to this position is the firstborn of the clan head, who as a rule is the most powerful family member in their age group. Should the clan head sire more than child, they are held in 'reserve' should anything happen to the heir, until the choice is fixated. At this point the rest of the clan heads children are branded with the caged bird seal that marks the branch family members.

Every child of the Hyuuga clan was taught this and raised in the belief that only the strongest are worthy of leadership.

This is seemingly what fate had in store for Hyuuga Hanabi, second born daughter to Hyuuga Hiashi, current clan head, as the council pressed him to finally accept his firstborn daughter and former 'failure' of the Hyuuga clan as their choice for the position of clan head, and mark his favorite Hanabi as a branch family member, coming her next birthday, which was in two months.

While Hiashi had to admit, that Hinata had grown stronger recently, in fact strong enough to fight Hanabi to a draw with Hinata holding back using only the original Jyuken style and not her personal version.

But Hiashi had worked too hard on Hanabi to let her skills atrophy by being placed in the branch family.

For this reason, Hiashi made his way deep down into the archives of the Hyuuga clan to find some age-old law or loophole that would spare his daughter the fate of his twin-brother.

**-------**

After countless hours of fruitless search, Hiashi was down to the oldest sets of laws the Hyuuga clan had from the time when Konohagakure no Sato was built under the Shodaime Hokage and the caged bird seal was invented to keep the clan under control.

Hiashi almost discarded the scroll, since every Hyuuga knew the 'founding law' of the Hyuuga clan by heart, he himself having read his personal copy of it often enough to really do so, but something stopped him cold, namely the appendix by the Nidaime Hokage, because this part wasn't mentioned in the clan's copies of the law.

Wondering about the revision of the law the entire Hyuuga clan was based on, that he didn't know about, Hiashi loosened the knot that tied the scroll together and braced himself for another long session of pettifoggery.

A few hours later Hiashi was at the end of the scroll and nearly at his wits end, when the appendix of the Nidaime caught his eyes.

_'Konohagakure no Sato should be a village of free people. I regret the law my older brother agreed to, that prevents me from interfering with clan business, especially the Hyuuga 'caged bird' seal, so in my position as the Nidaime Hokage of Konoha, I place following edict: Should a Hyuuga, whether of the Main or Branch Family marry outside of the clan he or she is not to be marked with the caged bird seal under any circumstances. At the same time should this union be interfered with, should this person have voiced the wish to marry outside of the clan to the Hyuuga council the use of the caged bird seal will be abolished'_

Had Hiashi been anyone but a Hyuuga he would have cried "Eureka" and danced around in joy. Instead he allowed himself a small smile, packed up the scroll and made his way out of the archives.

**-------**

The next day Hanabi was ordered to her fathers office, which she did with more apprehension than on any other day. While she had reconciled with her sister over the last months, the councils decision to make Hinata the official heiress and preparing to banish her to the branch family, left a bitter taste in her mouth.

That her father wanted to speak to her so shortly after the decision of the council was most likely not a good sign for her.

With carefully measured steps Hanabi neared the doors to her fathers office, knocking once.

A crisp "Enter" sounded from the other side of the door and Hanabi entered the room, bowing only slightly towards her father, as she still was a main House member, if only in the clan register. With all the grace of a ten year old Hyuuga Main House member, Hanabi closed the distance between her and her father.

"You called for me, Otou-sama?" asked Hanabi after seating down in front of her father.

"Yes I have Daughter. I believe that I have found a way to prevent the fate that awaits you" began Hiashi calmly, immediately getting the full attention of his youngest daughter. "Otou-sama?" she asked questioningly. Was that her father? While she knew that he had loosened up somewhat in the last two, two and a half years, some time after Neji's spectacular defeat and even had seen him smile once, even if it was only a slight upturn of his normally stoic lips, only visible to someone possessing the Byakugan, he would never defy Hyuuga traditions so openly and frankly it intrigued her more than anything in her life. Enough, so that she would go along with her fathers plan, as long as it was reasonable.

"I went to the archive yesterday to search for a possible loophole or some forgotten law that would help your situation and I believe that I stumbled over an old law from the founding days of the Hyuuga clan in Konoha created by the Nidaime" explained Hiashi, but his face seemed to drop at the last part, so Hanabi surmised that whatever the law stated, it wasn't going to pleasant for her, but was probably the lesser of the two evils, if her father went through the trouble to research this law and inform her about it.

"What is this law about, Otou-sama? I don't think I have ever heard about a law that would help me with my current situation"

Hiashi slipped his hand into the left sleeve of his robe and procured a small scroll, that he handed over to his daughter.

Hanabi accepted the scroll, immediately noticing its age, despite the care that seemed to have gone into preserving this document. Without further ado Hanabi untied the silk strings that held the scroll closed and unrolled it.

Only a few minutes later, she dropped the scroll, as if it was on fire and directed a shocked look at her father.

Hiashi seemed to...smirk at his daughter and began to explain.

"The Nidaime was like his brother and fought with everything he could against the Caged Bird Seal, until he and the Hyuuga council came to this solution. It was at that time, the branch members were branded with the seal at a very young age and this law was forgotten" here Hiashi paused a little to order his thoughts. "But you are only a short time away from attaining Genin rank, meaning you will be an adult in the eyes of the law, which includes marriage. While I know that 10 is a very young age for marriage, it is not unusual for clans to form an alliance in this way".

Here Hanabi decided to interrupt and reminded Hiashi that she had been taught that during her training as potential heir.

"I know daughter, I just wanted to remind you of your duties and the consequences should you choose this path" Hiashi answered.

"Should you choose this way, you should decide on a suitable husband, who would accept your terms for marriage in the next two weeks and inform the council of your choice. As this time is too short for me to look over possible candidates, you have my full support, as I know you will choose wisely" Hiashi told in his most serious voice.

Hanabi took a few moments to digest this information, before concluding that this meeting was over. She bowed to her father once, this time a little bit deeper in gratitude, before excusing herself with a short "Thank you for your assistance Otou-sama, I'll think about this matter in my room".

**-------**

Back in the relative safety of her room, Hanabi plopped down on her bed and sighed softly to herself.

Then she began to curse, words leaving her mouth that would make even battle hardened veterans blush.

After Hanabi had calmed down somewhat from her bout of noise pollution, she began to think through her father's plan some more.

_/Otou-sama is right, this might be the only possibility for me to not become a caged bird. He's also right, that as soon as I attain Genin I'm an adult in the eyes of the law, but am I old enough for marriage? To bind myself to another for the rest of my life? To do...that?/_ here Hanabi interrupted her train of though, lest she act like her elder sister for the rest of the day.

Hanabi dwelled on the other thoughts for quite a while, pondering if she should accept her fate, or take the chance her father presented her, at the possibility of maybe living in an unhappy marriage of convenience for the rest of her life.

Thinking about the possible scenarios, Hanabi laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling for some time, before deciding, that being married was preferable to being branded with the Caged Bird Seal.

The next step, she decided was to find a suitable husband, who should be in her age category and at least a Genin or soon-to-be Genin.

For the first time in her life, Hanabi regretted not getting to know or befriend some of her classmates at the Academy.

Sure, she knew their names and the family or clan they belonged to and other 'need to know' information, but she didn't knew them in the 'who should I marry' way.

The sentence "I'll be your bride when I'm grown up" suddenly shot through her head and was immediately dismissed as something straight out of a children's book in the face of reality.

_/If only thing were that simple/_ sighed Hanabi.

Now she regretted her sheltered life ind the lap of luxury, hard training and traditions, that prevented her from making contact with more people her age. Right now she could only think of about a handful of people she knew a little more than in passing.

With nothing better to do, she tried to imagine herself with them as her husband and the reactions of her father and clan.

There were Konohamaru and Udon, both only a year older than her. Then there were her sisters teammates and the rest of the former Rookie 9 that she met at one point or another.

First on her mental evaluation list was Konohamaru, the honored grandson of the Sandaime Hokage and heir to his legacy. _/The one who carries the will of fire to the future generation/_ thought Hanabi, having overheard this sentence from somewhere. _/He is going to be very powerful shinobi in the future and a real catch for anyone/._ _/Too bad he is still so immature and wouldn't understand my problem/._

Second on her list was Udon, the next tactical genius of Konoha, only second to Nara Shikamaru. After thinking shortly about him, she dismissed THAT choice, while the boy had a bright head on his shoulders and would understand her problem, he was not her type. And he had a chronic runny nose.

Next up were her sisters teammates, as she probably knew them best out of any of the others.

Thinking the two possibilities over for a few second she threw them out of the window too. While they were both good shinobi and good friends to Hinata, Hanabi could not see herself in a relationship with any of the two. Kiba...well, he was a human dog. Nice for short company, but nothing for a long commitment. Also, he was loud, had no tact and could use a bath, badly. She really couldn't see herself even sleeping next to him.

As for Shino, well she could appreciate his grip on logic and levelheadedness, but then there was that time she saw him with the Byakugan. She still had nightmares from that one. They bugs...they were _everywhere._

And so one after one she dismissed everyone on her short list of...acquaintances until she came to the last one.

Sasuke was a traitor to the Leaf and how anyone could like that broody Uchiha avenger aura, was beyond her.

Shikamaru is a lazy ass who has that blonde girl, Ino and the sand kunoichi after him.

Choji was a nice guy from her knowledge, but he was also a typical Akimichi, while she was a (rather frail) Hyuuga.

Lee...no...just NO...Well, maybe. She just had to get him out of the spandex, get him a week at the beauty farm and stop him from shouting about the Flames of Youth at every opportunity and...ok, so he was possibly the last resort and she didn't have enough time.

And finally...

"Firework? You look more like a little firecracker to me"

He...was an enigma...and the more she thought about him, the more there was to him, that no one seemed to notice.

_/If he just wouldn't make me so angry/_ thought Hanabi, remembering the various chance meetings the two had.

A/N:

Well, here's the first part of my newest brainfart child after I thought to myself

"What happened to Hanabi?"

Somewhere around that time I read the "Rules of the TFF?!?!" Thread

37) "A loli is fine too"

So now you know who's to blame.

No? It's Sigfried!

And finally:

Omake !!! Omake !!! Omake !!!

by brokensoul01:

---

'Oh, my head.'

One of the first thing a shinobi is taught when he or she enters the academy, is situational awareness. This is doubly true for those with the Byakugan.

'Where am I?'

When a shinobi is first instructed on situational awareness exercises, it is often suggested that, when first waking up, the trainee in question should teach themselves to immediately take stock of his or her surroundings. This is an easy thing for those who possess the Byakugan... Most of the time,

'Ano, why can't I mold my chakra?'

When a Hyuga begins the Shinobi Military Academy, he or she is taken aside within the first week or so, and is taught a technique that allows the user to siphon of a very small amount of his or her chakra, and applying it to his or her Byakugan, in order to see just through his or her eye-lids as they sleep, allowing for a greater level of situational awareness upon awakening. Incidentally, this also causes the Hyuga females to develop larger than average 'chakra reserves' than the run-of-the-mill kunoichi.

'The last thing I remember is... Hanabi-chan KISSING me???'

Needless to say, Hyuga Hinata mastered this technique at a VERY early age.

'Now I remember. I was upset because Hanabi-chan announced her intention to pursue Naruto-kun as a h-h-husband.'

After Hyuga Hanabi had, indeed, announced her intentions, as per the recently uncovered law, Hinata had retreated to her room, ostensibly to go to bed. Hanabi, however, saw the tears gathering in the corners of Hinata's eyes, and, curious, (as well as slightly worried, though she'd never tell) followed Hinata to her room. It was there that Hanabi overheard the muffled sobs of a heartbroken sibling.

'I thought she would understand that I wouldn't interfere'

But Hanabi was anything, if not stubborn.

"But you LOVE him, Onee-sama! I can't get in the way of THAT!"

"Ano, I love you t-too, though. I c-can't let you t-take the Caged Bird seal if t-there is s-something I can do t-to help," Hinata replied, tears streaking her cheeks.

"I just wish I'd known, though." Hanabi was torn. She didn't WANT to be branded, but the two sisters had become much closer as of late. Hanabi could, finally, honestly say that she loved her sister.

"It will all b-be okay."

'Ever the noble one' Hanabi thought, miserably.

'She touched my hand, told me that she would find a way to make it better. I had my doubts, though.'

It took Hanabi three days of combing the archives, before she found something that might help. It would, however, require a bit of... compromise. On both their parts.

"But it says RIGHT HERE that we can BOTH marry him. WHY are you being SO STUBBORN!?!?"

"Because, Imouto-chan, they say that if you love truly something, you must let it go." In the three days since Hanabi's announcement, a great change had occurred in Hinata. Though Hinata, herself, thought that it was the relief of acceptance, Hanabi knew that it was actually the first step in her sister's grieving process, denial. But Hanabi wouldn't let that stand.

"I just want you to be happy, Imouto-chanmmpph?!?"

'She kissed me, out of nowhere, she kissed me. Then I felt a light touch, then darkness, and now I'm here, NAKED, TIED TO SOMEONES GODDAMN BED!!!!!!'

It should be mentioned that, when left to her own thoughts, Hyuga Hinata was much less... restrained.

'I'LL KILL HER!!! I'LL RIP OFF HER FUCKING HEad...'

It had suddenly occurred to Hinata that, although she had been alone mere moments before, she appeared to have gained an audience.

"N-N-N-N-N-Naruto-k-k-kun!!"

"He can't respond right now," a voice echoed from behind the object of her scrutiny. "I've used the 'Five Point Temporary Pause Combination' so that I can explain what has already, and what is going to, happen."

"Imouto-chan! What's going on!?!"

"It's very simple, Onee-sama. Since you were being so bull-headed about this whole situation, I've decided to take things into my own hands, so to speak. Naruto-sama," she said switching her attention to a wide-eyed blonde, "what is about to happen is the stuff of dreams. You are going to sit there, while I fuck my sister, to get you in the mood. Then you will fuck ME, as I will be the first wife. Then you will fuck Onee-sama as she will be your second wife. But she will only be allowed to marry you, once she is with child, so we may be at this for quite a while."

Who would have guessed that Hanabi had such a potty mouth?

----


	2. Chapter 1

**Kitsune no Hanabi – Flashback Arc**

_/If he just wouldn't make me so angry/_ thought Hanabi, remembering the various chance meetings the two had.

**-------**

It was a beautiful day in Konoha. This counted double for Uzumaki Naruto, recently graduated Genin of the Leaf. In two days he would meet his new team and their Jounin-sensei. His next step towards becoming Hokage.

Truly, everything seemed to get better for Naruto, ever since graduating, even after finding out about the Kyuubi that has been sealed inside his stomach on the day of his birth by the Yondaime Hokage.

Just yesterday he had a nice talk with the old man Hokage and met the 'honorable' grandson Konohamaru. The confrontation the two had, lead to a decisive victory against a superior enemy, a new Jutsu and his first rival for the position as Hokage.

And just now, he was on his way to the Ichiraku Ramen Bar, for his well deserved break after his pre-lunch training. In his opinion, there was nothing that could fowl up his day now.

"Omph"

In retrospective he should have withheld his optimism. Or at least revoked it after a girl, about Konohamaru's height came around the corner, barreling into him and falling backwards, landing flat on her butt. Naruto looked down at whoever bumped into him, only to lock eyes with the famed Hyuuga death glare(tm) at point-blank range.

But seeing as it came from a 7 year old girl with ruffled hair, who was rubbing her sore posterior, which she landed on, it wasn't as intimidating as intended. In the end it only earned her a light chuckle from Naruto, instead of a sniveling apology as the Hyuuga was used to, if anything that didn't involve a member of the Hyuuga Main Branch wasn't going her way. But Naruto had lived through harder glares than this one without even flinching, so it was more amusing to him than anything else.

It only served to infuriate Hanabi more and she began to experience a loss of the prized emotional control the Hyuuga prided themselves with.

The end of her control came when Naruto told her to "Watch out where you are going".

The end result could be summoned up in two lines.

Poke

Blink Blink "Huh?"

**-------**

_/Escort Duty is troublesome/_.

This was the sentiment of Nara Shinji, Chunin of Konohagakure, during his latest assignment, escorting the second Hyuuga heir to and from her mandatory classes at the ninja academy.

Shinji was the typical male Nara family member, meaning he found everything that involved making more than twenty steps troublesome, but guarding a Hyuuga was even more troublesome, especially a pampered member of the Main Family, who thought she didn't need a, quote 'guard dog', to follow her every step.

_/And to think that the clouds are so nice today/_ thought Shinji sighing, catching a few stray cloud traveling through the blue sky with his eyes.

He returned his eyes to his charge just in time to see her rounding the corner and crash into the Uzumaki boy.

_/Oh Crud/_

Now while Shinji wasn't the most ambitious shinobi of Konoha, but he had, like every halfway decent shinobi developed a sixth sense that warned him of incoming danger to himself and said sense was now going haywire for some reason he couldn't explain logically. It was clear that Hanabi was the one who had run into the Uzumaki and even as disliked by the general populace as he was, he was in the right.

So why was he getting that bad feeling?

So like every dutiful Nara he chose to ignore the situation if it wasn't going to bite him in the ass immediately.

So it came as a surprise to him, when Hanabi suddenly launched a Jyuken strike at the Uzumaki, to which he replied with some blinking and nothing else.

Shinji was only alarmed when he saw the strike connect Naruto's stomach where the seal that held the Kyuubi at bay was located.

After some tense seconds, time resumed its normal rate again and Naruto began to poke Hanabi on her forehead, thinking nothing of the normally rather dangerous attack.

After being sure that the end of the world, or at least Konoha had been avoided, Shinji allowed himself a sigh of relief, before continuing to watch the interaction between the two kids.

**-------**

After having hit a shinobi of Konoha with a potentially very dangerous Jyuken strike, one that should have severely disturbed the chakra system of her target, causing impairing pain but gaining no reaction from Naruto besides a "that tickles", Hanabi was, for the first time in her life, floored.

Her stunned behavior lasted for 2.74 seconds and was ended by a fingertip making contact with her forehead.

"Hey, could you stop that?" Hanabi demanded, as she swatted at the hand Naruto had just **poked** her with.

"Why?, you started it" explained Naruto, going for another poke...it seemed that today was shaping up.

"Stop it" Hanabi demanded again, going for her own attack, Jyuken style, once again hitting Naruto in the stomach with no reaction other that a slight giggle.

"So it's okay to poke me, but I can't?" asked Naruto the stunned Hyuuga, who was lost in her thoughts of how this _commoner_ could just ignore two Jyuken strikes like that.

She was so deep in though, that she nearly missed Naruto going for another strike. After she noticed the 'attack' it was nearly too late, so she just jumped backwards.

Unfortunately she misjudged the distance of the jump as well as Naruto's speed and reach, so that the poke, which was intended to hit her on the cheek landed...lower.

_/Troublesome/_ thought Shinji, moments before a scream of epic proportions tore through his eardrums.

"KKKKKIIIIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH"

Fortunately for everyone present, Hanabi's scream only reached for a few meters before the hastily erected sound barrier of the Nara, which by the way is one of the Nara males favorite technique to escape the nagging of their wives, caught up with the shout.

Unfortunately Naruto was too close to this sonic blast for comfort and was nearly bowled over. For being a relatively quiet and stoic clan this Hyuuga sure had quite a set of lungs on her.

"Oy, what are you doing, don't shout like you've got a frog stuck into your kimono" demanded Naruto, after having recovered from Hanabi's sonic attack.

Hanabi only began to glare harder at this _pervert,_ crossing her arms over her -not existing- chest.

"WHAT? You are the one GROPING me and I should just be quiet?" asked Hanabi getting more and more agitated by the second.

Now it was Naruto's turn to be stunned, but he wasn't going to let this accusation hang in the air. Instantly changing his shocked expression to his typical foxy smirk, he leaned forward a little bit to get a better look at the spot he had 'groped'.

"Hmm...sue me if I'm wrong, but I don't see anything that can be groped here"

Hanabi _twitched_.

"You see, there's got to be something there, not flat land, like THIS" further explained Naruto, performing the handseals for his (in)famous Jutsu.

"Oiroke no Jutsu"

Poof In a cloud of smoke, that concealed nearly nothing and revealed nearly everything Naruto's naked female form appeared, hands on her hips in a really feminine pose, thrusting her chest out for display.

"See?, that's the stuff" explained Naruto-chan, bringing her hands up to her breast and kneading them lightly.

A few meters away, Shinji stood awestruck, holding his nose to prevent an explosion, thinking only one thing...

/_NOT troublesome._/

His attention was deflected from Naruto's 'Sexy no Jutsu' form, as he saw his charge turn several interesting shades of red, whether from anger or embarrassment he couldn't tell, as it probably was a dangerous mixture of both. What he could tell was, that it would be in the best interest for the health of everyone, himself included, that he stop this confrontation now, before it escalates...any more than it already has.

Like every Nara, Shinji found conflict-solving...troublesome, but if the choice was between bodily harm, from either the Hyuuga, his superiors or shudder his wife and carrying away a seven year old like a protesting sack of rice, the gain outweighed the trouble.

With a sigh that showed experience in the Art of sighing, Shinji used the Konoha-Shunshin to appear besides Hanabi, putting a restraining hand on her shoulder. Seeing that the fun was over for today, Naruto dispelled his Jutsu and tried to look as innocent as possible.

"Hanabi-sama, we should go, they are surely waiting for you at the Hyuuga compound" he reasoned.

Hanabi took a few seconds to try and sort her thoughts, before agreeing with her 'Guard Dogs' reasoning.

"Fine, but mark my words, I'll not forget your insult today, or my name isn't Hyuuga Hanabi" she threatened.

"Sure, whatever...I'm Uzumaki Naruto, at your service" he replied shrugging and getting ready to turn around, but there was still something left to do...

"Firework? You look more like a little firecracker to me" he whispered after the two, just loud enough for Hanabi to hear. He ignored the shouts from behind him, as the made his way to Ichiraku to some well deserved Ramen.

Shinji had to carry Hanabi the next three blocks kicking and shouting obscenities no seven year old girl should know.

**-------**

Oh yeah, Hanabi remembered their first meeting only all too well, as well as the humiliation of being carried like that for the time it took her to get herself under control again. At least nobody had recognized her and Naruto, as well as her guard had kept quiet about the incident and she hoped, that it stayed that way.

This was also the reason, why she simply didn't go to the council with this case, as she didn't want to let her embarrassment be known to others. That and the fact that it was Naruto who had been in the right and she, an academy student attacked him, an active shinobi.

But this still didn't stop her from seeking personal revenge, so she tried to find out some of his dirty little secrets like the ones everyone, even the best had and didn't want others to find out about.

The keyword being tried, as she came out with a very big blank.

Sure, she now knew that he was an orphan who lived alone in a crappy apartment in a poor district of Konoha, that he was the prankster of the town, dead-last in his academy classes and nearly everyone disliked him, but no information that could help her in her quest.

During the next months Hanabi tried and tried again to dig out one of the skeletons she knew Naruto had in his wardrobe with no results, only some strange rumor about a dangerous C-rank mission, done by his team, probably just some road-side bandits.

In the end she nearly gave up on her revenge and tried to forget him, when his name came up in one of the council meetings she attended with her father.

Apparently, he was going to be her cousin's opponent during the third stage, final exam in a few weeks.

Immediately every though about forgetting about Naruto were wiped away, as she now had the chance to watch her cousin, and by extension the Hyuuga clan, which included her, wipe the floor with this arrogant upstart of a Genin.

**-------**

Finally the long anticipated day arrived for Hanabi, only marred by the warning she had received from her father to be ready to evacuate in a moments notice, because of some 'security issues', but seeing that the fight Hyuuga Neji vs. Uzumaki Naruto was the opening one, she had high hopes to get to watch Naruto getting the snot beaten out of him and see what her cousin the praised Prodigy of the Branch House was really capable of.

The father-daughter duo left the Hyuuga premises with several Branch Family guards early in the morning to get their booked first row seats in the area before the other spectator arrived.

----------

After another hour of waiting in their seat, the final contest in the Chunin exams began with great fanfare and the introduction of the combatants.

Hanabi's eyes were immediately drawn to the bright orange eyesore that dubbed as Naruto's clothing. Seeing Naruto's foxy grin brought a tiny smirk to her face, as she though about how Neji would wipe it off.

**-------**

A wise man once stated the saying "No plan survives first contact with the enemy". On this day, the saying was once again proven to be true...twice.

Nearly everyone present watched the first fight without much interest, as the winner was already decided the moment Naruto drew the slip of paper with the number 1.

Or as Neji put it "Your Destiny was decided ... the moment I became your opponent".

At least that was until Naruto opened up a can of 'Original Uzumaki Naruto-style Whoop-Ass' on Neji.

In the end it was as if a thousand voices cried out and were suddenly silenced. This being the people that bet on Neji despite the low yield and those who wanted to see Naruto get beat up.

Well, at least Hanabi was not alone in her misery.

And maybe gained just a little bit of respect for Naruto.

**-------**

The next fights were a disappointment in comparison, with Sabaku no Kankuro giving up before the fight even started and the rather long and more tactical battle of Nara Shikamaru vs. Sabaku no Temari, that was won by Temari when Shikamaru gave up after he caught her in the Shadow Bind.

Finally the long awaited fight between Sasuke and Gaara took place and everything went to hell in a handbasket, with enemy shinobi popping out of the woodwork.

Hanabi's guards immediately went to evacuate her from the premises of the stadium to the next shelter. This was not for a seven year old girl, even a seven year old Hyuuga Main family member.

Konoha was at war.

**-------**

Sitting in the shelter, together with nearly every other Student of her academy class as well as several other civilians, Hanabi was getting bored, wanting to know how well Konoha and her father were faring. Activating her Byakugan, Hanabi's world inverted colors and her field of view expanded to encompass a radius of over 300 feet all around. Seeing nothing worth of notice, she fed more Chakra into the technique to access another technique of the Byakugan that allowed her to 'see' Chakra over wide distances, with the drawback of loosing every other visual reference, seeing only clouds of Chakra, normally blue, with the occasional green mixed into it, when a medical Jutsu is being used.

After overcoming the vertigo from using the Jutsu, Hanabi's world turned into a black-blue haze, with only a few distinctive blue spots visible at the first glance.

Concentrating a little, Hanabi filtered out the Chakra that surrounded her and got her first real overview of the battle.

There was a large concentration of green Chakra where she suspected the hospital. It was surrounded by several strong blue signatures, probably ANBU, guarding the hospital and the wounded inside, as well as bringing in new wounded.

Then there was a mass of strong blue signatures flaring up and dimming or vanishing, where Hanabi guessed the main battle was taking place.

Further observing the battle taking place, Hanabi suddenly sensed a huge sphere of Chakra appearing somewhere off the main battle and saw the surrounding signatures dying out.

_/Kaiten/_ was Hanabi's only thought.

After making sure that her father was ok, Hanabi's attention was drawn towards a strange purple box made of Chakra, somewhere where she presumed the stadium was.

Her attention didn't linger for too long, as she noticed another, if weak purple Chakra signature appear near the edge of her vision, there also seemed something off with the other Chakra, but she couldn't see what.

Over the course of the next minutes her attention lingered on this strange one on one battle, when she suddenly noticed other signatures approaching, as the purple one grew weaker and the strange signature changed into a blood red color and seemed to bulge outwards, something that should be impossible and frankly even as an observer, several miles away it scared her more than the battle going on within the walls of Konoha.

With mounting trepidation Hanabi continued to watch the battle going on, growing more anxious with every bit the red Chakra grew.

Then, suddenly the tide of the battle shifted, but Hanabi's stomach dropped nonetheless, as a thousand Chakra presences popped up on the battlefield and she knew for sure, who it was, fighting that strange red signature. There was only one person, who would use Kage Bunshin so recklessly.

_/Uzumaki Naruto/_.

In muted shock she continued to watch the battle, as it grew fiercer and the Chakra output of the combatants grew larger and larger until it nearly hurt to watch. She didn't even react when the blue/red signature grew even larger until it probably towered the Hokage Tower, or as another signature, as bis as the large one appeared suddenly.

She did react though, as the signature of Naruto suddenly turned even more terrifying shade of red then the first one and both signatures suddenly nearly vanished, being replaced by weak blue ones.

Only then she allowed herself a sigh of relief, releasing her Byakugan and staring at the ground.

/What power...Is that really the annoying Genin I met?/ she asked herself unsure.

**-------**

The aftermath of the Sand/Sound Invasion was a rather moot event. There were not victory celebrations or other elated feelings. Konoha was safe, Sound ran and Sand admitted defeat, but at the cost of many lives of loyal shinobi and the Sandaime Hokage.

Two days after the attack, the funeral of the Sandaime took place and life went on, the shinobi missions continued, the rumor mill spun and even a new Hokage was put into office and through it all, one name was suddenly constant withing the rumors.

Uzumaki Naruto.

**-------**

Going out of her reverie of old times, Hanabi remembered what had happened after she tried to find out more about the enigma that was Uzumaki Naruto.

Suddenly all the information she had wanted was there and nobody could stop talking about the obnoxious Genin and his exploits.

Whether it was the painting of the Hokage monument, his various 'Sexy no Jutsu' pranks or the strange rumors about some of his fights and his hidden power.

The problem for Hanabi was just to separate fact from fiction or exaggeration. Not a simple undertaking when you were talking about Naruto.

Though she managed to find some reliable information, and what she found out frightened her even more than the battle she'd witnessed. Gaara being a Jinchuuriki, a container for one of the tailed Beasts was a mayor shock to her system and with the fight between those two, where Naruto showed the same strange Chakra, it lead to only one possible conclusion and for the first time ever, Hanabi cowered at the thought of the confrontation she had with Konoha's Jinchuuriki and how it could have ended with her as a bloody smear somewhere.

And how this power excited her.

**-------**


	3. Chapter 2

**Kitsune no Hanabi – Chapter 2**

A/N:

The rumors about my death have been greatly exaggerated.

Nonetheless, this is going to be the last chapter for the next months, as I'm beginning my basic military service in the Austrian Armed Forces on May 7th 11:00 GMT +2 and therefore I won't have the time to sit in front of my Computer. After the basic service I will be stationed in Vienna, close to my home for the rest of my term of service and hopefully be able to write a chapter or two.

But don't let this darken the chapter for you  
- rootathell

**-------**

Hanabi shuddered again, this time not out of fear but excitement as in her mind, the scene played out again with slight alterations. Naruto's pokes were replaced with soft touches, his goading with feathery whispers into her ear and his little slip turned into a blatant grope to her bigger-than-in-reality breast. Hanabi leaned into Naruto's strong hand, gripping the other one with her small ones and guiding it to her other breast, laying her hands over his.

Standing on her toes, Hanabi motioned for Naruto to lower his head a little and their lips met in a sensual kiss, Naruto's tongue forcing its way past her lips and teeth, exploring her mouth and wrestling with her tongue as his hands grew bolder.

Hanabi melted into the embrace Naruto held her in, only sighing contently into Naruto's mouth as one hand slid from her right breasts downwards, landing on her butt, she sighed again at the warmth that enveloped her, as well as the tingle racing up and down her spine. Her center grew hotter, as his hand went from her butt over her thigh towards her front, teasing with feathery light touches over her clothes, never staying long enough to evoke the feelings Hanabi craved.

Finally, after an eternity for Hanabi, Naruto's hand sneaked its way underneath her pants, brushing her core as Hanabi's world exploded into the fireworks she was named after.

Knock knock "Hanabi-sama, are you all right? I heard a scream" came a concerned voice from outside her room, probably one of the guards patrolling the compound at every time.

Red faced Hanabi's hands shout out of her panties, hurriedly fixing her clothes while trying to stutter out a "I'm fine" worthy of Hinata when facing Naruto.

Not wanting to mess with one of the Main Family members, even if she was going to be branded as a Branch Family member soon, the guard shrugged his shoulders and resumed his duties.

Having avoided mortal embarrassment due to being caught with the hand in the cookie jar, Hanabi tried to calm down her racing heart. She had little success as the room still held the strong smell of her arousal and her clothes were in a disarray.

Deciding on her course of action, Hanabi opened the window of her room, before entering her bathroom to take a nice COLD shower.

**-------**

Half an hour later, Hanabi left her bathroom with a soft little sneeze and went to her dresser for her more formal clothes. Her cold shower hadn't just helped her with her immediate problem, but also helped her to think about her course of action clearly.

Her main problems were the council and Naruto, as her father had given her a carte blanche in her choice for a husband. Getting the council to agree would probably going to be hard, but with the promise of strengthening the Hyuuga bloodline with the powers of the Kyuubi containers traits could probably win them over or at least be indifferent towards Naruto.

No, the problem Hanabi had to face, was to get Naruto to accept her marriage proposal.

Having thought over the possible approaches she could take, from the 'mighty Hyuuga' to the 'pity party' one, Hanabi decided to go for the one that had the highest chance of success, as well as the lowest loss of dignity on her side. The Omiai.

**-------**

A few hours later, after refining her plan, found Hanabi with her father in his study room. Hiashi sat at the low table in the room, sipping some tee and enjoying the evening, while Hanabi, decked out in a formal but comfortable kimono, knelt on a cushion in front of him holding a traditional folding fan.

Since Hiashi was dealing with his daughter and he had full confidence in her, Hanabi's visit could only mean she had found a potential husband for herself.

Settling down his cup for a refill, Hiashi began the conversation, short and to the point.

"I see that you have found a suitable candidate, may I know who gained your interest to decide that fast?"

"Hai otou-sama, I have" began Hanabi in a soft voice, something seldom heard from the young girl. "Though he probably isn't the most suitable candidate, he is someone I can admire for his power and maybe even grow to love in time".

Hiashi raised his right eyebrow at Hanabi's declaration, but motioned for her to continue, intrigued, who could cause such respect and admiration in his youngest daughter, former heir of Konoha's strongest clan.

Taking a small sip of his tea, Hiashi was caught off guard, as Hanabi blurted out her wish.

"I want you to arrange an Omiai with Uzumaki Naruto for me"

Splurt

Hanabi folded up her now soggy fan that had prevented her from taking a hot tea shower, and mentally congratulated herself for thinking so far ahead.

**-------**

After Hiashi had recovered from his shock, or at least somewhat, as he still looked quite flabbergasted, he tried to think of any reason, why Hanabi would, of all people believe Naruto to be the most suitable candidate as a husband for her.

Trying to gain more insight into the situation, as well as taking back control of the conversation, Hiashi put his business face on.

"You said that he wasn't the most suitable candidate, so why choose him?" he asked, masking his interest.

"Well" began Hanabi, weighing her words "He is loud, naive and obnoxious, in short everything a Hyuuga, in-law or not, should not be".

"On the other hand" continued Hanabi without pause "He is a very powerful shinobi, being able to defeat Neji, as well as the current Kazekage and this was nearly three years ago, before he went on a training journey with Jiraiya of the Sannin."

By then Hiashi was aware, that Hanabi was beating around the bush. She clearly knew about something that had influenced her decision, but didn't want to give it away.

"He is also, despite the opinion of many very loyal towards Konoha and will fight when others have given up long ago. Some might call it stubbornness, but I say it's determination".

"Yes, Yes daughter, that are clearly good arguments, but for such a decision you have to give me more than just that. Had you chosen a young Daiymo or the son of one, I would know at least part of the reason, but why HIM?" here Hiashi paused for a second to find the right words, without insulting Hanabi's decision. "If you took notice of him, then you had to notice the opinion the villagers have about him. There are many powerful and loyal shinobi in Konoha and many of them are from influential clans. You have to be specific, because even if the council can't influence your decision on whom to marry, I still can."

_/Of course/_ thought Hanabi noticing the somewhat sly look in Hiashi's eyes, probably only noticeable because he was still slightly off guard and she was his daughter _/He knows that I'm hiding something and wants me to lay down my cards/_ Now it was Hanabi's time to look sly.

"I saw him fighting the Kazekage Gaara, three years ago with my Byakugan. I...I saw the Chakra...the red Chakra, the same he used against Neji and now I know what's behind it"

This time Hiashi was glad he was focusing his attention on Hanabi instead of drinking tea, because it spared him another embarrassment.

When he had first heard Hanabi's interest in the local demon vessel, just minutes ago, his thoughts swirled around on how to gently break the truth to Hanabi and how this might break her.

But now things got really difficult for him, because Hanabi accepted the boy and while the public opinion on Naruto was rather low around the villagers, the boy had potential, as he had shown in his fight against Neji and afterwards.

As the well oiled gears in Hiashi's head began its work, he had to agree with Hanabi, that maybe Naruto wasn't the best, but one of the upper category choices. As he went over Hanabi's first explanation again, Naruto's ranking went up another notch.

While he might not be the best parent for his daughters, he knew from personal experience, that a marriage out of love or feeling that might develop into love was better than any arranged loveless marriage.

The point that only Hanabi had feelings for Naruto and the poor boy didn't know anything about them, went over the esteemed clan head...he had full confidence in his little girl.

"I...understand daughter and you have my blessings. I'll arrange a council meeting for the evening"

"Understood father, good day" Hanabi bowed herself off.

**-------**

That evening the Hyuuga clan council met again, only two days after the last meeting, though this time it was due to a summon by the clan head.

Punctual on the minute the council started. Arranged in a half-circle in front of Hiashi sat the Hyuuga elders. To Hiashi's left sat Hanabi, to his right Hinata, both decked out in very formal kimonos.

The meeting began with the usual squabble between the various elders that existed in every clan. Hiashi decided to nip the mounting conflict at the bud.

"It has come to my attention, that some of our copies of the Hyuuga law scrolls are severely outdated" stated Hiashi, brief and to the point.

The room quieted immediately, as Hiashi made the accusation. Some of the elders looked insulted, while others went for the appalled look.

"Yesterday I was researching the old scrolls pertaining the laws dating back to the founding of Konoha to look for a solution pertaining my younger daughter's situation, when I stumbled over the original scroll of the Hyuuga founding law" here Hiashi paused for a moment to gauge the reactions of the various elders.

To his secret delight, some of them began to squirm just a little bit, making Hiashi continue his explanation.

"Especially interesting was the appendix by the Nidaime Hokage, that was made a few years after he came into office, while the copies of this scroll date back to the reign of the Shodai Hokage" stated Hiashi with a tiny smirk.

"I see that some of you understand what I'm talking about. Now for those that don't, I brought the original with me today". With some flourish, Hiashi presented the old scroll to the council and unrolled it, pointing out the Nidaime's appendix to the law.

Nearly instantly, the murmurs began to rise, before the eldest raised his hand to stop the noise.

"Very well, Hiashi-san, we will amend the current copies of our scroll, but that wasn't why you brought us here today".

"Indeed" answered Hiashi "I discussed the situation with Hanabi and she has agreed to a marriage, instead of the seal".

"Very well, but you are putting us in a tight spot, the sealing ceremony is scheduled in two months, this is a very short time for a courtship, let alone finding a suitable candidate" answered the Eldest with a sly grin.

"This won't be your problem, I assure you. As the law states, Hanabi only has to inform you, not let you decide on a husband and coincidentally, she has already chosen a candidate for an Omiai" explained Hiashi, throwing the grin right back into the Eldest's face.

Fuming a little bit at being foiled, he had only one thing let to say "And may we know, who that is?"

"Why of course" grinned Hiashi. He was going to enjoy this. "He is Konoha's number one surprising Ninja. Uzumaki Naruto"

**-------**

OMAKE TIME

by Innortal:

Hinata did well to hide her gasp, as well as not faint, upon hearing her sister's declaration and request to their father.

"I know what I must do now," she said sadly.

**-------**

"Why?" cried Hanabi, seeing the slaughtered clan before her.

Hinata merely stared, wondering what she could say next. _Nah, she'd never believe it. _"To test myself. You've always wanted to surpass me. That's why I'm going to let you live."

**-------**

"So was that why you slaughtered your clan, Itachi-sama?" asked Hinata, as she donned her Akatsuki robes.

"No," said the Uchiha. "I slaughtered them because I learned the clan's secret."

"Which was?"

"They were solely responsible for funding movies by Pauly Shore, Mariah Carey, and a campaign to have Icha Icha Paradise banned from the village."

Hinata nodded. "And the village didn't see you as a hero?"

"I know, it is odd," he said, as they left.

**-------**

Alternate Version:

"No," said the Uchiha. "I slaughtered them because I learned the clan's secret."

"Which was?"

"They were making deals to engage Uchiha members to other clans. When I learned Sasuke had been engaged to the Haruno clan's daughter... The world shall not have to deal with pink-haired Uchiha men, thanks to me."

"Were you engaged?" asked Hinata.

The nin nodded. "Yes, I was supposed to marry the student of the Missing Sannin, Orochimaru. I met her one time with my best friend. It was so disturbing..." he said, before falling onto the ground, and crouching into the fetal position."

"What's taking so long?" asked Kisame, entering into the room. As he caught sight of his partner, he sighed. "Man, that chick must have been seriously messed up to leave something like this on him. Did he tell you that since his best friend admitted it was his idea, Itachi had to kill him first."

**-------**

Omake #2:

by rootathell

Taking a small sip of his tea, Hiashi was caught off guard, as Hanabi blurted out her wish.

"I want you to arrange an Omiai with Uzumaki Naruto for me"

Hiashi lowered his cup and set it on the low table, before kneeling towards the shrine in his office.

"Did you hear that Hikari-chan, our little baby is all grown up" he cried, before tears sprang from his eyes in the form of two miniature waterfalls, forming the dreaded Suiton: Daibakufume no Jutsu (Great Waterfall Eye Technique).

Hanabi just stared at the man that had replaced her normally stoic father.

"Arashi-kun, my friend I wish you were here to see that, it's a match made in heaven, the pact to unite our houses...finally" by that time, the water was already standing two centimeters in the room and Hanabi had to stand up, to avoid soaking her clothes.

She stared again, as out of nowhere a Shogi board and a bottle of sake appeared in front of her father, before drowning himself in his tears and alcohol.

A knock on the door interrupted Hanabi's train of thought.

Hinata opened the door, letting the water drain into the hallway and saw her father getting smashed while playing a game of Shogi against himself, distracting himself by pointing somewhere in the room and changing the positions of his figures, all the while rambling some nonsense.

Taking the picture in and letting it rattle around in her head for a little while, Hinata had only one thing to say.

"Oh My!"


	4. Chapter 3

**Kitsune no Hanabi – Chapter 3**

A/N: Well, I was back in Vienna, in the Heeres Versorgungs Schule, doing a secretary job for three weeks before I was once again transferred to Baden to the Heeres Kraftfahr Schule doing the same job, just with less time to use a laptop. But I'm still working on this fanfic, as well as several others (like the revision of Boys and Explosives that I posted some time ago), all the while preparing myself for the AniNite07, an Austrian Anime Convention.

**-------**

A disturbing silence settled over Konoha, the sky darkened and the local wildlife fled for shelter, seconds before a cry of epic proportions ripped through the village, originating from the Hyuuga compound. Nearby ANBU and other shinobi went on high alert, before noticing several of the branch family members calmly walk out of a guard house and wave them off, as if what just happened had been an everyday occurrence.

Back in the guard house, the assembled guards were rolling on the floor in laughter, as an alarm situation gave them the permission to use their bloodline on the Hyuuga grounds to check for intruders. That said, they immediately found out the source of the cry, explaining their unusual amusement.

After the loud outcry, it was quiet within the council chamber, with half of the esteemed Hyuuga council having fainted and lying undignified on the ground and the other half being too shocked for words and not even having the though left for useless sputtering. The only people still being coherent were Hiashi and Hanabi, while Hinata laid on her back in a dead faint after the revelation hit her.

Hiashi, now having reestablished his superiority, as well as confirmed some suspicions of his, allowed himself a small grin and left the room with a "Take care of our future clan head, Hanabi"

**-------**

Hinata woke up from a nightmare starring Naruto marrying her little sister, little blonde Hyuuga children who called her Aunty and herself as a bitter old maid, finally marrying her cousin Neji in a marriage of convenience.

Hinata shuddered again as she remembered her dream, before opening her eyes, only to look into the eyes of her tormentor, Hanabi.

Blinking a few times to clear her head, Hinata tried to remember what had happened for her to wake up in her bed midday with her little sister watching over her, before she noticed Hanabi's Kimono and the details of the council meeting came back to her, nearly leading to another collapse, as she found out that her nightmare might become reality.

"Is everything alright onee-sama?" asked Hanabi, not knowing how thin the ice she was treading on was.

"Yes, Hanabi...I'd just like some time for myself..." Hinata brought out in a very uneven voice that caught Hanabi's attention.

"I understand, I'll leave now" with that Hanabi tip-toed out of the room and closed the door, leaving a little gap and went down the corridor, before sneaking back to Hinata's door, where she witnessed Hinata kneeling before her bed, her upper body lying on the bed, while she cried over a object she couldn't identify cradled in her hands.

Deciding the risk of activating her Byakugan was worth the gain of finding out her sisters cause of despair, Hanabi did the Handsigns, activating her bloodline, before she simply froze.

Cradled in Hinata's arms, wet from her tears, was a simple picture frame that held the photograph of Uzumaki Naruto, giving his typical foxy full face grin.

This time it was Hanabi who decided that she needed a break.

**-------**

Hanabi awoke to the same nightmare as Hinata, only with reversed roles and without her older sister watching over her when she woke up.

Hanabi's heart clenched again, as she remembered Hinata's breakdown shortly before she fainted. Even on her worst days she had never seen Hinata so weak and vulnerable, not even when she lied broken on the ground after a match between the two of them.

_/She was always stronger than she looked, because the body will heal with time, but the soul is much more vulnerable if you know where to strike/_ she thought, sneaking away from the door of Hinata's room, with the still weeping occupant in it.

**-------**

The next morning filled Hanabi with dread, thinking she was in a horror movie enactment with her older sister as a Zombie side character. She walked like the living dead, her skin was deathly pale, not the normal healthy cream shade the Hyuuga woman were fabled for. Add to that the dark rings under her bloodshot eyes and Hanabi was ready to flee in fear, when she caught sight of her sister at the breakfast table.

The atmosphere was tense and Hanabi breathes a sigh of relief, after Hinata left the table to return to her room, only to tense up again, after she noticed the look her father was giving her.

"It seems, that you got into quite a situation, Hanabi" Hiashi noted with a small quirk of his lips "The question is, since you took the first step, how are you going to continue?"

"Otou-sama?" questioned Hanabi.

"You are old enough to make your own decisions and it was you who brought on yesterdays incident. While I approve of your choice and you made the first official claim, that doesn't mean you will simply get the Uzumaki boy handed to you on a silver platter. Then there is the situation with Hinata, which is partly her own, but to the other part your fault" explained Hiashi.

"I understand that now, but before yesterday, I didn't even know Hinata liked anyone that way" replied Hanabi.

"I didn't expect you to, but look at it as a lesson in life and try to find the best solution. Who knows, maybe Hinata can help you" With this advice Hiashi left the table, leaving Hanabi to her thoughts.

**-------**

At the same time, back in Hinata's room, the heartbroken girl was sitting silently on her bed, wallowing in her self-pity silently, as she had no tears left to cry in her, all the while her thoughts ran rampant, going over yesterdays meeting again and again.

With each repetition of Hinata's mental turmoil, her physical torment became more apparent until she was lying on the bed, looking like she had fallen on it and did have neither the strength nor the willpower left in her body to move.

**-------**

Following Hiashi's advice, Hanabi made her way to her older sister's room, only to find her lying on her bed like this, not even noticing her entrance. Carefully Hanabi sneaked up closer, only to stare into Hinata's vacant eyes.

With a gasp Hanabi took a step backward, still unnoticed by Hinata. Finally having enough of the dampening atmosphere, Hanabi left the room.

**-------**

During the next two days, Hanabi tried to make contact with her sister several times, only to be foiled by Hinata's response, or rather the lack thereof.

Deciding that she needed some kind of initiative to get Hinata to react, Hanabi went back to her room for some thinking.

**-------**

Back in her room, Hanabi went over the information she had available to her, that being Hinata's reaction to her possible Omiai with Naruto and her sister's apparent crush on her object of affection.

_/Again this shows the gap this family has put between sisters of the same blood just because of old traditions/_ thought Hanabi with a grimace.

_/And everything went so fine until now...It even looked like the council would agree to discontinue the usage of the caged bird seal after they have seen Hinata's skill/_ continuing with her train of thought, Hanabi once again began to recall better times, when the two finally found themselves growing closer to each other, just like sisters should. Even with years of one-sided conflict behind them, Hanabi finally saw her sister as just that, not as a barrier that stood between her and freedom from the families cursed seal.

It still took over half a year before they could go shopping together without Hanabi trying to make it a competition with her sister.

**-------**

The next day, thankfully being a free day for the academy students, Hanabi went to the public library for some information gathering and also to get away from seeing Hinata so defeated.

**-------**

The Konoha library was a wondrous place and a goldmine for shinobi and civilian alike. Looking for advice on laws? Having trouble deciding what to cook next weekend? Need to infiltrate an enemy stronghold and assassinate the daiymo's wife's cat?

Somewhere in the library there was a book for it.

Had Hanabi not been so involved in the book she was reading, she would have agreed, but alas she was busy with the one book that presented her with a suitable solution to her elder sister's and her own problem. (1)

With a somewhat solid plan in her mind, Hanabi left the library with the book, as she had only read the first chapter, that described a problem similar to her own and the planned solution.

Though some parts of the book had been weathered away and were unreadable, Hanabi had no doubt, that this plan could work, if done correctly.

And she had no intention of failing.

**-------**

Back at the Hyuuga compound, Hinata was slowly coming out of the pit of self pity she had dug for herself. Over the last days she had much time to think, trying to find out, where things went wrong and her younger sister had suddenly claimed HER man.

With a steely glint in her eyes, Hinata marched towards her wardrobe. Naruto would return today, if she remembered correctly and this was her last chance to get his attention.

Flinging the doors of her walk-in closet wide open, Hinata began her search.

Little did she know, that other forces were also at work.

**-------**

Meanwhile, the unknowing center of the last days action in Konoha was on his way back from Suna, another successful mission on his record, which was once again a close call, with Gaara only surviving due to Chiyo-sama's sacrifice.

But they had prevailed, Akatsuki may have gotten their hands on the Ichibi no Tanuki, but suffered a significant loss with the death of Sasori of the red sand.

Now his team and Naruto himself were on their way back to Konoha, where a hot bowl of Ramen was waiting for him at Ichiraku's.

Just as they passed the border of the two countries, clearly marked by the denser vegetation, Naruto felt a cold shiver going down his spine and racing back up.

_/Damn, Konoha is really cold compared to Suna/_

**-------**

(1): Icha Icha: Twin Trouble.


	5. Chapter 4

**Kitsune no Hanabi – Chapter 4**

A/N: Well, it has been quite some time since I wrote anything. A lot has happened in the last years, some good, some bad.

A lot has happened in the last 3 years and I really haven't had much time (or motivation) to write anything, but I'm trying to get back into the scene now and hopefully can turn out a few chapters.

It was later that day, that Team Kakashi and Team Gai passed the main Gate, looking like they went through a small war and thrived.

And they had every reason to do so. They had survived their first encounter with their enemy and the experience would be useful for the next encounters that would follow in the future.

Still looking like winners, the two teams entered the Hokage tower to report in and receive their payment, which in Naruto's case would immediately be spent on tons of Ramen at Ichiraku's to celebrate the mission.

This was where Neji found Naruto three hours later after being ordered to deliver an important scroll to him by Hiashi himself, leaving him very confused since he seemed to be missing some important information and Neji hated being left out of the loop.

Entering the Ramen stand Neji gaped at the tower of empty Ramen bowls that stood beside Naruto, who seemed to be intent on making the tower reach the wooden ceiling, his entire concentration focused on the bowl he was currently devouring.

Neji nearly scoffed at the behavior of Konoha's number one most surprising ninja and how he let himself wide open for an attack when his favorite food was involved, that he was seriously surprised when Naruto whipped around his head to face him, Ramen noodles still hanging from his mouth, the centrifugal force nearly spraying him with the brooth.

"Mo Mewi mwas up?" asked Naruto around the noodles in his mouth before swallowing them noisily.

Having gotten used to the darker side of human nature, like seeing Gai-sensei and Lee hugging, Neji showed no outward reaction other than making a step backwards. While deciphering what Naruto just asked him.

Getting no immediate answer to his question, on what was going on, Naruto grew bored and turned his attention back to the bowl of heaven in his hands only to be foiled again by Neji who handed him a sealed scroll and left without further words.

Naruto blinked a little before looking at the scroll in his right hand and to the bowl of Ramen in his left, before shrugging and setting the scroll aside.

Messages, no matter how important could wait. Ramen had priority.

Another hour and many bowls of Ramen later, Naruto finally had the time to see what was in the scroll Neji gave him.

Taking out a Kunai from his leg holster Naruto cut the wax seal with the Hyuuga crest in two and opened the scroll.

Looking over the contents of the scroll, Naruto's eyes crossed from the big words thrown around in what seemed to be an invitation of some sorts.

Mulling over one word in particular, Naruto looked around and found the smiling face of Ayame.

Grinning for all he was worth he asked "Ne, Ayame nee-chan, what's an Omiai (1)?"

After half an hour in which Ayame tried, futilely to explain the concept of an Omiai to Naruto without embarrassing herself, as he was still a kid in her eyes, Naruto left the Ramen stand with a confused look on his face and a part of his mission's pay in Ichiraku's register.

So still without even a clue aside that it had something to do with 'forming a lasting bond', Naruto made his way to his next source of information, deep in thought.

_/What bond?/_ Naruto thought. _/Team Kakashi has an open spot, but that was no problem on the last mission. Why would they invite me, but say nothing about Kakashi or Sakura-chan? And why didn't Tsunade baa-chan say anything to us at the debriefing?/_

So deep in the maze that was his mind, Naruto nearly missed the academy and the person the wanted to see.

"Iruka-senseiiii!" came the shout in a tone and pitch, its recipient had long ago learned to fear. Iruka, sitting in the teachers lounge, nearly spit out his coffee, as doom was approaching him in the form of an orange/black clad former student of his, who to his utter horror seemed to be in one of his 'curious phases'.

He shuddered at the thought of what had happened last time he heard Naruto like that. After an extremely embarrassing 'talk' and explanation about some of the facts of life, it lead to the creation of the Oiroke no Jutsu two days later.

_/Please, oh please let it be a non-embarrassing question/_ Iruka prayed, as Naruto entered the lounge.

"Iruka-senseiii!" Naruto barreled into the room, grin on his face and waving a small scroll around, like it contained his nomination for the Hokage title.

Iruka hope began to rise.

Only to fall into a deep hole as Naruto shot his hopes down. "Ne, Iruka-sensei, what's an Omiai?"

It was at times like this, when Iruka wondered what crimes he had committed in any of his past lives to deserve this.

Another hour later, but still without a grip on the situation, Naruto left the academy towards his next target, the Hokage tower, where the Godaime Hokage had just received a notice from the Hyuuga clan, pertaining the final appointment of the Hyuuga heiress, Hyuuga Hinata.

Tsunade sighed, rubbing her eyes, as she put down the letter from Hyuuga Hiashi. If there was one thing she hated more than clan politics it was the Hyuuga clan politics and their practice of the Caged Bird Seal, that her grandfather created for them.

While she could understand the Hyuuga's need to protect their bloodline, the seal itself was barbaric in her opinion, a Damocles sword that was hanging over the heads of the branch family, ready to kill or maim the person under it at the command of any main branch member.

In her personal opinion it was nothing more than a glorified form of slavery, she could do nothing about, as even the Hokage couldn't meddle in the clan politics, as long as it didn't endanger the village. As a medic nin however, she had a even worse opinion of the seal, as she had seen what it could do to a person.

Sighing again, Tsunade mourned for the poor child _/Hyuuga Hanabi, was it?/_ that would receive the seal. _/And to think that she was handled like the heir for a time/ _though Tsunade sarcastically.

Tsunade was soon cut from her thoughts by the enthusiastic cry from Naruto who just entered her office. "Heya, baa-chan!"

Tsunade released another sigh, secure in the knowledge, that today couldn't get any worse. She was proven wrong, only a minute later, when Naruto got the chance to ask his question.

Tsunade sighed once again after she got over the initial confusion. Trust Naruto to make her day more strenuous than it already was.

"Omiai, huh?" mumbled Tsunade as if tasting the kanji on her tongue for the first time, just to infuriate the brat a bit.

Of course she knew what an Omiai was and what it entailed, but she had no idea why Naruto would ask her about it, since the practice of Omiai's was pretty much replaced by the Ren'ai (2), the marriage out of love, except for marriages that would be used to 'strengthen' family ties and clans.

Tsunade twitched as if hit by static discharge, as pieces of a puzzle came together.

"Naruto, did the Hyuuga invite to an Omiai?" asked Tsunade.

At Tsunade's question Naruto looked questioningly at her, before he simply took out the scroll he got earlier and handed it to her. She was probably better with that stuff than him.

The air in the Hokage office was thick with tension, as Tsunade tried to get her head around the content of the scroll Naruto that Naruto showed her after she got over the shock of Naruto asking her about the meaning of an Omiai.

With the letter from the Hyuuga, naming the new heir of the clan, there had to be some sort of connection between the two letters, one that Tsunade was very curios to find out.

Turning her attention from Naruto's 'invitation' from the Hyuuga towards the unknowing boy, Tsunade gained a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Naruto" intoned Tsunade in full Hokage mode, leaving him no other choice but to stand at attention and listen or else...

...else which could be summoned up under 'major bodily harm'.

"Since you don't know the meaning of an Omiai, let me explain it to you. The practice of the 'Omiai' goes back to the era of the samurai to form and protect strong military alliances among warlords to ensure mutual support." began Tsunade, while watching for any sign of Naruto not paying attention to her.

"The word itself translates literally to 'looking at each other' or 'miai' for short. The practice of Omiai is a custom where unattached individuals are introduced to each other to consider the possibility of marriage" at that Tsunade grinned as Naruto's eyes widened.

"Normally an Omiai takes a person who wants to marry and a nakōdo, the 'mediator' between the families, who judges possible candidates suitability before creating a list of possible candidates."

"Then, if the marriage candidate has chosen a suitable partner, the nakōdo sends out an invitation to the family, where they get to meet their potential spouse" here Tsunade paused for a moment to gauge Naruto's reaction, before continuing.

"After the initial meeting, it is decided if you want to continue the courtship and go on a few dates, after which you can decide if you want to go through with the marriage".

"B...But baa-chan...m...marry...wha?" stuttered Naruto.

"Don't interrupt me" hissed Tsunade "And let me tell you something important.

Normally an Omiai is between people with the same or similar social standing, for someone from the Hyuuga clan to request an Omiai with you...well" Tsunade paused, catching Naruto's hurt look "It seems that there is someone in that stuck up clan who really likes you, but can't just ask you on a date" grinned Tsunade.

"W...what do you mean baa-chan?"

"Well, the invitation you got amounts to someone telling you "I like you very much and want to marry you, so lets see if we can make it work" Not pausing to comment on Naruto's expression of shock, she continued.

"Get some formal wear today, something that can be used for official meetings, so no orange. There's a tailor near the Hokage tower, that makes very practical but formal wear, tell him I sent you and he'll make your commission priority" she ordered, nearly shoving Naruto out of her office, before she paused at the doorstep.

"Oh... I nearly forgot. Of course I'm going to accompany you to your Omiai tomorrow as a stand in for your family" with that Tsunade pushed him out of her office and closed the doors. Naruto would probably be out of her hair for the rest of the day.

And indeed, Naruto was rather out of it, after he was thrown out of the Hokage office. So out of it in fact, that he even followed Tsunade's order without complaints and soon found himself in front of the tailor's shop she recommended.

Naruto looked at the sign, proclaiming itself to be the Konoha's Sewing Box with a pompous sign, framed by a large needle with a thick thread that wrapped itself around the letters of the sign.

"Ooohhkaayyy" mumbled Naruto to himself, before he entered the shop.

Only to be greeted by what seemed to be a bigger atrocity against human taste than Maito Gai himself.

Dressed in a purple tailor suit and pants, framed with pink frills, wearing a large pin cushion on his head and a pair of thick horn glasses, that amplified his overly large eyes and eyebrows, stood Maito Kash, proud owner of Konoha's best (and proudest) tailor shop.

"Super Freaky Eyebrows" squeaked Naruto, before he was pulled off his feet, stripped to his underwear and tied up in measuring tape, where he had to watch, while the walking fashion disaster packed up his precious orange jumpsuit, muttering about horrible fashion sense and whatnot.

After his jumpsuit was packed up, Super Glasses Eyebrows, as he was now firmly designated in Naruto's mind, turned towards Naruto.

"Le pardone me, monsieur, but Madame 'ohkage-sama insisted I 'urry, make you new la garderobé, rapide, rapide".

Naruto, who was still out of it due to the shock that there was another person that made up the Family of the Super Eyebrows aka. Gai and Lee couldn't react as he was measured from his large toenail up to the tips of his hair.

After a few minutes Maito Kash had everything he needed and began his work at speeds, his relative would be proud of.

Naruto vanished in a cloud of smoke, pincushions, fabric and threads and came out a minute later, wearing the typical James Bond attire, down to the Walther PPK in one hand and a glass of Martini, shaken not stirred, in the other.

Naruto blinked his eyes /What just happened?/.

"Noh, noh, noh monsieur, 'zis not your style" mumbled Kash, before resuming his work.

Once again Naruto vanished in a cloud of smoke and tailoring equipment, only to reemerge a minute later, this time in his Oiroke no Jutsu guise, wearing a midnight black playboy bunny style suit, complete with ears and whatnot. As Naruto looked down on himself, he wondered how the hell he changed into Oiroke form without performing the Jutsu.

"Oui, 'zis is good, but you looking for male clothing, no?"

Naruto could only attempt a warding gesture, before he was, again, enveloped in a cloud of smoke. The transformation was interrupted as a beautiful brunette with hazel eyes dressed in a floral print kimono walked into the shop and with determined steps closed in on the dust cloud that roamed around the shop as Naruto tried to escape. As she reached the cloud she stuck her hand into it and pulled the now male but stripped to his Ramen boxer shorts Naruto out of it.

"Anata, what are you doing?" asked the woman, nearly causing another shutdown of Naruto's mental facilities _/Anata???/_.

Kash didn't seem to notice Naruto's mental breakdown but he noticed the woman holding him.

"Ma Chérie, Madame 'ohkage-sama..." began Kash, but was interrupted by a bonk to the head from the woman's free hand. "Kash-kun, stop it, Tsunade-sama sent me a message that she needs a proper formal attire for Naruto-kun here, not your usual hijinks, so get on to it" she scolded.

"Hai Darling, I will get to it" replied Kash and strolled into the back of the shop, leaving Naruto with his savior.  
After about a minute Naruto regained control on his wits again and dashed towards the nearest changing booth in embarrassment, causing a melodious laugh from the woman.  
"You must excuse my husband's excitable behavior Naruto-san, but sometimes he can't help himself, it seems that all Maito's are like that" she explained.

Naruto's head peaked from the curtain of the changing booth showing a mix of embarrassment, shock and curiosity. "Ya mean he's you husband AND related to Bushy-Brows?"

"Bushy Brows? If you mean Maito Gai, he's Kash's brother and my brother-in-law" she explained "I'm Maito Hitomi by the way, I've been married to Kash for five years now, he's a very nice man once you get past his eccentricities" the look she received from Naruto told her he didn't believe that.

After an awkward moment between them, Naruto asked the next important question "You know...could I get my pants back? it's getting cold".

This time Hitomi could control her urge to laugh and waved him off "Don't worry, Kash-kun should be back in a moment with some clothes for you, it would be unnecessary to put on some pants and take them off in a minute to try on a new pair...well what did I tell you, here he is"

And true to Hitomi's words, that was the moment Maito Kash strode back from the backroom of the shop with a bundle of clothing folded over his arms, looking a bit more subdued now than when Naruto first encountered him, probably due to Hitomi's presence.

With a wordless thanks Naruto snatched the clothes from him and proceeded to get dressed.

A few minutes later he emerged from the booth, clad in black Jounin-style pants without the cargo pockets and Bandages for a kunai-pouch, mesh shirt and a green, long-sleeved shirt. Over the shirt he wore a formal-style dark green vest, also with the outer pouches removed, but with a few hidden ones sewn in the inside. All in all it was a definite step up from his orange/black jacket and pants combo he wore normally.

Deciding that if he complained about his current outfit, he'd just end up in something much more formal or even with a full sized male kimono with hakama pants. So being smart for once, Naruto held back his comments, paid for his purchase, gathered up his old clothes and beat a hasty retreat.

A/N:

(1) Omiai: Arranged Marriage (lit. "looking at each other")

(2) Ren'ai: Love Marriage

I apologize for my butchering of the french language, no Frenchmen were harmed in the making of this chapter.


End file.
